Relationship between Social Class and Educational Attainment - Coursework Example

Relationship between social and educational attainment: A lot of research has been conducted to explore the relationship between social and inequalities in educational attainment and the mutual effects have been evaluated. There are a lot of views and theories which acknowledge that the two are interrelated. Before getting into the depth to study their relationship, it would be very appropriate to define the two. Social class refers to the status of people based on where they live and what they do. Educational attainment points toward the ability of some people to be better in studies than others. Studies have revealed that there exists a direct relationship between the level of social class and the tendency to gain education. The link between social class and educational attainment can be proved to exist if evidence is found for the existence of a relationship between ability and social class since good abilities are very essential for sound education, since good abilities are essential for sound education and learning. A person is gifted with good abilities by nature. Though practice makes a lot of difference but a practicing person can never be as sharp as the one who is mentally smart. Therefore, good abilities are in born and can not be developed. Secondly, it needs to be evaluated whether a social class is inherited or a higher social class is attainable through hard work or not. Thirdly, it needs to be clarified whether social class is needed to ensure sound educational attainment, or vice versa. It can be observed in the society that money can not buy everything. Many rich parents fail to educate their children despite getting them admitted in expensive schools. Many schools guarantee that they can educate students the best but the fact is that it is not true unless the students themselves take interest in their studies. On the other hand, we come across many cases where poor parents have succeeded in educating their children good enough to get them high posts and good salaries, and accordingly they social class of the children gets upgraded as compared to their parents. Thus, it is proved that money can not buy learning and a higher social status is quite attainable through hard work and luck. Expensive schools are not necessary for the attainment of good education. A mentally sharp and hard working person can get the highest level of education. All he / she needs is to be at the right place and the right time and a good luck. Education is not the property of the rich. Thus, there is no significant relationship between social class and educational attainment. IQ/ natural intelligence: Intelligence quotient (IQ) is a key to attainment of good education and social status can not come in the way of a poor but intelligent and determined student. Cultural deprivation theory: The Cultural deprivation refers to certain cultural barriers that may come in a students’ way toward attaining education, including lack of money, opportunities or parental support. The theory rightly depicts the potential hurdles which hinder the process of education in poor students. A student who works for money to finance his / her studies is very likely to loose interest in studies. Material deprivation theory: The material deprivation theory points toward the inability of poor students to afford materials or accessories available in the market, that they could have availed to facilitate their education, had they not been poor. It is right that science has advanced so much that it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid technology in our everyday life. Yet, in my view, sharp and active students can manage without it. The theory of cultural capital: This theory focuses on the educational attainment of the children of financially average but socially rich people. In my view, the children of such people are more likely to attain good education because of their parents education and success. Besides, these children are very likely to face financial constraints for they are likely to get admission anywhere on behalf of their parents’ name and fame. Role of symbolic interactionism in sociological studies of education: Symbolic interactionism is a term used to point toward the facial, physical and behavioral expression we adopt in our daily life when interacting with other people. Symbolic interactionism plays a very important role in the sociological studies of education. It adds expression to the speech and hence enhances the understanding and learning of the interacting parties. It is this characteristic feature of human interaction that simplifies the complexities of interaction. Symbolic interactionism may differ from culture to culture. It not only facilitates the understanding of one another’s view, but also makes the interaction lively and interesting for students who study in a group, especially when the process of learning is activity based. Labelling, typing and the self fulfilling prophecy: A sociological perspective: Labelling and typing refers to the way in which the teachers categorize their students. Sociologists are of the view that the teachers can play a very big role in boosting the spirit of a student for studies. Teachers can make or break a student’s interest in studies by modifying their behavior in a positive way. It is quite normal of a teacher to judge the students’ ability with respect to the toppers in the class, which is not a rational way of judging them. The teachers should also try to encourage the students and raise their self-confidence. Limitations of these concepts in education: The sociological perspective has got certain limitations in its applicability to the practical educational setup. The differences of social class, parental support, class-mates’ behavior and the teachers’ approach are the factors whose existence can not be negated. In order to practice the sociological approach as mentioned above, a holistic approach needs to be adopted where all parties should get united to remove the cultural and class differences for the sake of building a strong and educated nation. Role of the education system in contemporary British society: Education plays a very important role in the building of any society. Likewise, it is equally effective and important in the contemporary British society. The educationalists believe that education must be provided to children belonging to all classes whether they are British nationals or outsiders. Education is not the property of any particular nation. Rather educational attainment opportunities should be open to all people living in a society. In support of this view, some organizations in Britain are solely working to support the students from ethnic minorities by providing them with psychological counseling and financial support, so that they become strong enough to overcome the barriers of racial discrimination a lot of which is observed in the British society in general and the British schools in particular. People against racial discrimination think of it as a very positive step toward removing cultural differences and take school as a medium not only for education, but also developing British – nonBritish interaction and understanding, which is vital for a united nation. Besides, the symbolic interactionism that takes place among the students belonging to different ethnic backgrounds and the British helps remove the differences between the two. Racism in Britain is widespread and equal educational opportunities for every student in Britain is likely to outshine the differences among people belonging to various origins in the generations to follow, though, the change will be gradual. Improving the educational system in Britain can help reduce racism. Besides, critiques look at the matter differently. They rightly consider students as an asset for the nation who will benefit the nation after completing their studies. Critiques are of the view that the students from ethnic minorities getting equal educational attainment opportunities as the British students would increase their number in the working class in industries of Britain in the time to come. “Alternatively, consideration might be given to education as one of the most important means by which members of minority ethnic groups become integrated into the mainstream of white British life”. (Abercrombie, 2002, p. 254). Critiques argue that removing inequalities of educational attainment opportunities between the British and others will upgrade the social class of the ethnic minorities in Britain and they will start standing parallel to the white British in all walks of life. According to the critiques’ point of view, ethnic minorities getting into the educational system of Britain are likely to endanger the identity of the local British people after completing their education, for they would not only learn English properly but also understand the British culture and trends good enough to overcome the differences, and this will not be in favor of the local white British people. Besides, there are certain factors that can influence the interest of students in studies positively or negatively. These factors are not limited to but include the teachers’ perspective on the education of non British students in Britain. Some racist teachers tend to prefer British students over others. Such teachers do not judge the students by their abilities. Instead they tend to judge the students by what they are normally known for considering their origin. This is a very wrong attitude, and teachers’ training programs can play a very important role in resolving such issues. Also, the teachers can play a very important role in molding the British students in a way that would teach them look at the non-British respectfully. This will not only remove the cultural differences but also modify the educational system ethically, and result in the development of an ethically sound educational system in the Britain. Thus there are various perspectives about the influence of educational system in the British contemporary society. However, from a sociological perspective, all British and non British students in Britain must be exposed to equal educational attainment opportunities, and all factors getting in the way of achieving this must be worked against by the government. References: Abercrombie, N., Warde, A. and Deem, R. “Contemporary British society”. USA: Blackwell Publishers Inc. Available at: http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=0uJzM7whjsAC&pg=PA254&lpg=PA254&dq=educational+system+in+contemporary+british+society&source=bl&ots=ub3nOO9ryW&sig=7-H4FFV-_fh3DIqM8IC5PY_1vBw&hl=en&ei=OB3KS9XTN5S3rAf4ze2qBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=educational%20system%20in%20contemporary%20british%20society&f=false. [Accessed: 16 April 2010]. Read More